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He added there is significant room for low & no to grow across Britain’s pubs.
Mountstevens told The Morning Advertiser the industry’s approach to alcohol-free products has changed dramatically post-Covid.
“If we’d been talking four or five years ago, I’d have said we need to make it available as part of the occasion,” he explained. “And by that I’d probably have meant one brand in the fridge.”
Today, however, he believes low & no products deserve far greater attention and stated: “It is a category in its own right.”
Expanded range
Mountstevens said consumption is no longer driven solely by people avoiding alcohol entirely. Instead, alcohol-free products are increasingly becoming purchases made by consumers who want to moderate their drinking.
“It’s not just drunk by consumers who want to avoid alcohol or abstain,” he said. “It might be popping into the pub on a Tuesday and saying, ‘I want a great pint of Heineken 0.0’.”
The change in consumer behaviour has prompted Star to expand its alcohol-free range across multiple categories, including lager, cider and ale.
As part of that strategy, the business has introduced products such as Heineken 0.0, Moretti Zero and Cruzcampo Zero and is continuing to assess where further opportunities exist.
One area generating particular excitement is draught low & no beer.
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10% of sites stock draught 0.0
Mountstevens revealed about 10% of Star Pubs sites stock Heineken 0.0 on draught and he expects that figure to increase as technical advances make wider rollout easier.
“There’s definitely still opportunity for us to expand 0.0 draught for the right pubs in the right locations,” he said.
Destination venues and pubs serving customers who drive are among the locations best suited to alcohol-free draught products, he added.
Mountstevens also highlighted the role brewing innovation has played in improving product quality.
“The brewing technology across all brewers has changed,” he said. “Brewing it with the alcohol and extracting the alcohol makes it a fundamentally different product.”
For Star, the message is clear: low & no is no longer simply an alternative. It is becoming an increasingly important revenue stream and a growing part of the modern pub offer.
